Secret of the Planet of the Apes
by Satoshi3
Summary: Takes place six hundred years after Caesar's death, starting right where Battle for the Planet of the Apes left off. Can apes and humans really live in peace, as equals? Or is the joint ape-human scoiety doomed to failure?
1. Chapter 1

**"Secret of the Planet of the Apes"**

**AN**-This story is something I've had in my head for a while, and I've finally decided to write it down. I've always wondered if the joint ape-human civilization seen at the end of Battle for the Planet of the Apes, could work, and this is my answer to that question. Constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not.

**Disclaimer**-Planet of the Apes and it's associated characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for a while. Please don't sue, I have nothing you would want.

**Chapter 1**

"But as I look upon apes and humans, living togeather in friendship, harmony and at peace, now some six hundred years after Ceasar's death, at least now we wait with hpe for the future. "

The orangutan's name was Aristotle, but most called him The Lawgiver. He looked up from the scroll he had been reading from to survay his class, which was made up of both ape and human children. One human girl, who in another time and place would have been called an African American, raised her hand. "Lawgiver, who knows about the future?"

"Prehaps only the dead." Finally he closed his scroll and rose from the large rock on which he had been sitting. "That will be all for today. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Lawgiver." Tha class said in unison as they began to decend the small mountain ledge on which The Lawgiver held his classes to return to Central City. The Lawgiver gathered his suppliesand as he began to head for home he saw a young chimpanzee comming up the cliff to meet him. It was Felix, one of his older students. "Lawgiver, you must come quickly. Its an emergency."

"Is it Cassius?"

"I'm afraid so. The doctors don't think he has much time left. Cassius wishes to speak with you before he passes on."

Aristotle nodded without saying a word and the two apes returned to Central City. It was the very city Ceasar himself had founded six hundred years earlier, and the city that his decendants had ruled ever since. Only now it was much diffrent then it was in Ceasar's time. It was much larger now in order to accomidate the larger population, and the apes had long ago abandoned building they're houses in the trees in favor of larger and more stable stone houses on the ground. Allthough apes and humans were technically equalls undetr the law, human houses were made of wood and were generaslly smaller then ape homes. It was just one symptom of an ever growing social problem, Simian Supremisists. Apes who wanted revenge for they're ancestor's slavery at the hands of the human race six centuries earlier. Apes whop could not stomach the notion of a scoiety where ape and human lived as equals. And unfourtunatly Markus, Cassius' only child and heir, was one of them.

Cassius' house was a large two story structure in the center of the city, and today it was crowded with council members, millitary leaders, and even a few members of the public who wished to pay they're last respects to Cassius before he died. Aristotle found Cassius laying on his bed in his sleeping chambers surrounded by his wife Hellen and two doctors, one human and the other an orangutan. Cassius was still relitvaly young, only fifty years old, but the stress and pressures that come with being a ruler had aged him horribly and he looked far older then he really was. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was asleep, but when he heard Aristotle enter the room he slowly opened his eyes. "Hellen dear, will you and the doctors be so kind as to leave the room for a moment? I want to speak to Aristotle alone."

"Of course. We'll be right outside if you need us." Hellen lightly kissed her husband and she headed for the diir along with the two doctors. As the orangutan doctor was leaving the room Aristotle placed hir had on his arm to stop him. "How much time does he have left? And he honest."

"Not much sir, I'm afraid. His heart is extremly weak and his organs are beginning to shut down. Death is not far away, and frankly I will be amazed if he survives the night."

"I see. Thank you, Galen. I'll call for you if you are needed."

"Yes, Sir." Galen left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Cassius and Aristotle alone to talk.

Aristitle took a seat in the chair next to Cassius' bed. "What is it you want to speak to me about, sir?"

"Aristotle, everyone knows that you are by far the wisest ape in Central City. You're wisdom has brought us through many crisis and threats, and you are responsible for overhauling our law system. You were my own teacher when I was a child. I may be this citie's ruler, but you are it's leader. And now that I am dying I fear for our citie's future. If Ceasar saw how bad things have gotten..."

"You're venerable ancestor would, if he could soeak to you from beyond the grave, would tell you that he approves of the way you have conducted your'eself as ruler. All you're life you have worked tirelessly towards Ceasar's ideals."

"Yes and just look at the end result of all my work. The Simian Supremisist faction contiunes to grow in number and in power, and as a result an increasing number of humans are fleeing the city. And since my son is a Simian Supremisist, I can only imagine what kind of policies he will inact as ruler. He has even sopken to me about wanting to take away the human's equal rights and reduce them to the status of slaves."

"That would be truly terrible. Where is Markus, by the way? I thought he would be here with you."

"I wish I knew. I summoned him here because I want to speak to him once more before I die, but I haven't seen him.I heard that the ape supremisists are holding a meeting in the council building, I'm sure he is with them."

Aristotle sighed and shook his head. Cassius had inacted laws restricting the ape supremistists ability to meet and assemble, but he was far too weak to enforce them, and Markus ceartainly couldn't be counted on to do so. Cassius, short of breath from the effort of speaking, closed his eyes and took several slow, shallow breaths. Finally he had the energy to speak again. "Markus wasn't always like this, you know. He was such a good, obedieant child. And he had no haterd for humans. One of his best friends was even a human boy. I was sure he would make an excellent ruler one day. But then one day, against my explicit orders, he went into the Forbidden City. I have no idea what happened to him there, but when he returned he had changed. I just don't understand it. What could have happened to him, Aristotle? What could have changer him so drastically?"

The six hundred year old ruins of the Forbidden City, the city where humans had kept apes as slaves and the city in which Ceasar had led the ape rebellion, was strictly off limits to all the residents of Central City. Ceasar had declared it forbidden six centuries ago, and it had been so ever since. Markus had gone there at the age of seventeen when Carla, the young female chimpanzee he had fallen in love with, fell ill. Central City's relitivly primitive medical technology wasn't able to help her, but Markus had heard a rumor that before the apr revolution the humans had devoloped extremly sophisticated medical technology but, like most human technology, it had been lost in the atomic war that had taken place in the revolution's aftermath. Markus believed that that medical technology could help carla, abd he surmised that some of it must still exist in the ruins of the Forbidden City. So he asked his father for permission to go to the city and bring that technology back, and when Cassius had denied him permission he had gone anyway. He had never told anyone exactly what had happened to him there, but when he returned to Central City he had devolped a veiment hatred of humans. "Aristotle,"Cassius continued. "I know that Markus is my only child and that makes him my lawful heir, but you are The Lawgiver. Tell me, would it be lawful for me to deny Markus his birthright and pass the succession on to someone else of my choosing?"

"Sir, you are the ruler. Than is you're choice alone to make."

"But even the ruler must follow the law. Would it be lawful for me to give the sucession to another?"

Aristotle sighed. "If you feel that for whatever reason Markus is incaple of assuming the leadership, then yes you may then pass on the sucession to another of you;re choosing. But Cassius, you have no other surviving family. Who would you give the sucession too?"

"That is what I wanted to speak to you about, Aristotle. I want you to lead. I want you to temporarily rule Central City, at least until you find someone you see fit to assume the rulership premanantly.Everyone in the city looks up to you and respects you, even Markus." Cassius once again had to stop to catch his breath. "If you don't do this I fear that our city will degenerate into anarchy. If you do not agree I will order you to do this as you're ruler. What is you're answer?"

"Of course I agree, sir. But it would be only temporary untill I choose a permanant ruler. And of course you must put you're order in writing to make it official. Do you have the energy to do that?"

"Take that parchment on the table and I will dictate my order to you and sign it afterwards." Aristotle picked up a charkol stick and a piece of parchment off the table by Cassius's bedside and prepared to write down Cassius's order. Since it was taking ever more effort for Cassius to simply speak it was short, but to the point.

"I, Cassius, decendant of Ceasar and soverighn ruler of Central City, declare that my son Markus, also a decendant ceasar, is not fir to rule after my death. So now on this, the day of my death, I make my last decree that Aristotle, teacher, mentor and Lawgiver to all Central City, shall temporarily rule after my death until he can find one who he deems worthy to be permanant ruler. This is my decree. God help me."

With much effort Cassius managed to sign his name to the diccument, and Aristotle, sensing that his death was drawing near, called Hellen and the doctors back into the room. Cassius died there about a half hour later, leaving Aristotle with the unenviable task of telling the tempermental Markus that not only was his father dead, but that his birthright had been taken from him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer**-All the usual disclaimers apply. I don't own POTA or it's characters. I own the original characters I made up and that's it. Please don't sue, I hove nothing you would want.

The council room was arranged in the shape of a large semi cirsle. The semi circle was devided into four sections, one for the Chimpanzees, One for the Orangutans, One for the Gorillas and one for the Humans. Each section contained ten seats for the council members. Facing the semi circle was a large platform, and on that platform was Cassius' seat. But that seat now stood empty, and the members of the council had gathered here to await Cassius' death. The only one missing was Aristotle, The Lawgiver, who was the head Orangutan council member.

Markus sat in his seat in the Chimpanzee section, silently awaiting the news he knew was comming. Soon his father would be dead, he would be in charge, and he would be free to use the knowledge he had obtained in the Forbidden City to prevent the future event he knew was comming, the end of the world.

On his trip th the Forbidden City he had discovered that his ancestor Ceasar's parents had come to the year 1973 from Earth's own future, and they had told the humans who had questioned them about how they had fled from the Earth's destruction in the year 3950. He had also discovered that, within the Forbidden City, there was a bomb. It was over six centuries old, but it still had the power to wipe out all living things. And he was sure that the scared, mutated humans who guard that bomb would not hesitite to use it if they believed it necessary to do so. He had tried to tell all of this to his father, but Cassius had refused to believe him. Wail it was true, he had said, that Ceasar's parents had come from the future, the future destruction of Earth was noe believed by most to be merely a myth, propaganda invented by the humans of that time to justify the enslavement of the Apes. Ceasar himself is known to have believed that propaganda, but now the myth was known for what it was, and there were few who gave it any credance. So Markus had been burdened with the knowledge of Earth;s ultimate fate with no way to prove that what he knew was true, with no one who would believe him and no way to change the future. But soon he would be ruler, and then maybe he would be able to do something.

It wasn't that he wanted his father to die, far from it. Sure he and Cassius had they're disagreements, in fact there wasn't very much that they did agree on. But Markus still loved his father. He really did. But as much as he might want to he could not stop Cassius from dying, so he had accepted the inevidable and prepared himself to move on into the future. A future he could hopefuly do something to change.

Markus watched as the other council members paced anxiously around the room, engagin in nervous conversation. The Humans seemed perticularly on edge. They knew that Markus was a Simian Supremisist, and they were afraid of what he would do when he assumed power. Would he take away they're rights, reduce them to slavery, or worse? Truth be told Markus didn't know what he would do about the Humans yet, but de did know that seeing the the decendants of slave drivers sitting in council with the decendants of the slaves as equals dusgusted him. The Humans never did pay for they're crimes. Instead of punnishing those who had held him and his people in slavery, Ceasar had made them equal to the Apes whom they had oppressed. Ceasar had started the revolution, but by failing to punish the Human slave masters he had failed to complete the revolution. Prehaps Markus could now do so himself. He would begin by taking away all Human representation on the council, and then he would go from there.

Markus looked up when he heard the door to the council chambers opening. A somber Aristotle walked in carrying aa piece of parchment in his right hand. Instead of taking his usual place with the other Orangutans he made his way to Cassius' seat and proceded to adress the council.

"My fellow council members, I have two very important announcements, and the council should hear them before the general public does. First, about thirty miuntes ago, our ruler Cassius passed away. He was in minimal pain, and his death was not prolonged. The funeral will be held the day after tomorrow. I know that we are all deeply saddened by this tragic news, and all Central City will observe in a week long period of mourning. Markus, Cassius was you're father. I know that this loss affects you more than anyone else here, and on behalf of the rest of the council allow me to extend my depesty condolances."

Markus nodded his head slowly, still taking in the news. "Thank you, Aristotle."

"Now then, before all work stops for the period of mourning there is one matter that must be attended to. As Cassius' son, Markus should be the next in line to rule. However, shortly before his death, Cassius expressed concerns to me about his son's ability to rule in a way that Cassius would approve of. Therfore, hedictated to me his last order and sighned it into law. The order officially states thet Markus is not to become the new leader. Instead, I am to temporarily assume power untill I find someone worthy to rule permanantly."

The members of the council murmrerd uneasily, but a furious Markus jumped up out of his seat. "I don't believe you! My Father would never do that to me! Let me see that paper!" Markus stormes up to Cassius' seat where Aristotle was sitting and angerly took the paper from his hand. He quickly scanned the paper, reading what his father had dictated to Aristotle. And as he read his anger grew. Yes he and his father had had they're disagreements, but never would he have ever guessed that Cassius would do that to him. He looked up at the elderly Orangutan, his eyes blazing with anger.

"You forced my father to into this! He would never do this otherwise!" Markus then turned to the council. "Listen everyone, Aristotle somehos forced my father to give him the leadership! He has no intention of holding only temporary power, he wants the rulership for himself ansd he took advantage of my dying father to get it!"

"I can assure you Markus, I did not force you're father into anything and I have no intention of keeping the rulership for myself. I will look for a worthy ruler, and once I find one I will then pass the rulership over to them."

"I am the only living decendant of Ceasar! The rulership is rightfuly mine! All of you, I'm telling you that Aristotle is trying to assume power! That is the only logical explination for this! I know my father better than anyone else here! We had our disagreements, but my father would never take my birthright from me!"

Aristotle shook his head. "By carrying on like this you are olny proving you're father right. You are far to immature to rule. Now please kindly take you're seat. This order is sighned by Cassius, which makes it legally binding. I'm afraid that there is nothing you can do about it. My fellow members of the council, rest assured that I never wanted or asked for this responsibility. I am old, and frankly I was looking foreward to finaly retiring soon. But now that I have this responsibility I will do my best to be a wise and fair interm ruler. I hope that I may count on all of you're support."

The members of the council noded, affirming to Aristotle that they would all stand behind him. Markus couldn't believe what was happening. How was it that everyone had suddenly turned against him? Wordlessly he stormed out of the council room, slamming the heavy wodden door behind him. Aristotle closed his eyes and let out a shakey breath. That had gone better than expectedm but he had a feeling that Markus was not about to give up so easily. Still, there was nothing he could do. Cassius had sighned the order, it was law now. The council had obviously not believed Markus' acusations, so the matter was resolved. Aristotle slowly opened his eyes and adressed the council. "My friends, this has been a long day, and I won't keep you here very much longer. I only want to thank you for you're support in this difficult time, and once again assure you that I will do my very best to find a worthy ruler as soon as possible. I know this latest turn of events is unexpected, I know I ceartainly was not expecting it. I also know that some of you may find it to be somewhat troubling. But what is done is done, and all we can do now is trust that Cassius made the right decision in revoking Markus' birthright. Now we had better be on our way home. I must go announce the sad news to the rest of the city, and we all have a funeral to prepare for."

The day of Cassius' funeral was cold and rainy. The funeral priocession, led by the Orangutan priest Bartholomew, slowly wound it's way through Central City's main street twards the cemetary where all of Cassius' ancestors were buried. The church service had been a respectful tribute to Cassius, and almost the entire city had attended. Aristotle, Hellen, as well as several others who had known Cassius well had given eulagies, speaking about what a great leader Cassius had been and how he would be forever missed. But Markus had refused to speak at his father's funeral service. He was angry at his father, angry at Aristotle, angry at the world. Aristotle had been his teacher when he was a child, he had trusted him. How was he supposed to know that the elderly Orangutan was plotting to seize power? And Aristotle had done so so suddenly and so cleverly that noone else could see what had really happened. But Markus knew. And he swore that he would somehow expose Aristotle for the traitor he was, and then he would take what was rightfuly his. As the priest said one last prayer over Cassius' ornatly decorated wooden casket before it was lowered into the ground Markus silently swore that everything that he would make right everything that had gone wrong. He would undo Aristotle's plot and assule the leadership, then he would find some way to prevent the future distruction of Earth. He had to. And he would. He just needed the power to do so. They would all see. He was not lying and he was not crazy. He knew what he saw in the Forbidden City, and once he had the power that was rightfuly his he would save the future.


End file.
